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Push-ups

Push-ups can be done with one hand also, however in our case here it is better to use both the hands.

This exercise helps in developing the shoulders, back, and the arms. It also helps in understanding the essence of guiding and resistance, for the man and the lady. This exercise develops the muscles and they become very evident in men due too the bulges, however in a woman the muscles get toned up and is not evident at all.

The Exercise
Lie on the floor facing down. Keep the feet tight together and point the toes far back. Rest the palms flat on the floor close to the body and almost under the shoulders, and the fingers pointing forward. Now straighten the arm and lift the body off the floor. The body should remain straight from the head to toe.

From this position relax/flex the elbows and as the body is lowering move slightly forward and breathe in through the mouth. The palms and toes remain on the floor as if they are nailed firmly to the ground. Lower fully keeping a very small space between the body and the floor so that no part of the body touches the floor, except the toes and the palms.

Next is to heave ones self up by straightening the elbows. At the same time breathe out with force through the nose.

Remember to keep the body straight through out the exercise. Repeating this exercise 5 to 10 times is good enough.

Simpler Variation
If the above exercise is difficult then you should try the simpler variation first, before trying out the above.

Lie flat on a bed facing down. Now slide forward such that the arms rest on the floor. The head and chest project from the edge of the bed.
The weight of the projecting body part is taken on the straight arms. Now try to bending and straightening the elbows. Do this twice. If you get it then slide a little further away from the bed, and slightly more weight comes on the arms. Repeat the bending and straightening of the arms again, two or three times. And keep repeating this pattern till one is able to perform it as given above.

Very Important Variation for PUSH
In this case take the exercise position with the arms straight and relaxed at the shoulders and the elbows, and move the hips gently up and down. This movement should be rhythmic, with the hip moving about two to three inches. This movement will cause the feeling of the feet to be lifted completely of the floor. Little faster hip movement will make the feet fly up and off the floor every time the hip is moving up. A little push from the arms will result in the whole body including the palms and the toes, being lifted off the floor.

This exercise is very dangerous and a lot of care should be taken especially of the back and the toes. Even if one feels a sight pain then the best thing is to stop the exercise at least for the day.

The very important points to be noted are; (a) the push is mainly form the body, arms only assist fractionally, and the timing of the push from the arms is very crucial to make the exercise effortless; (b) the body has to move forward prior to the push, and conversely there has to be a pull prior to moving forward. (c) Always bare in mind the feel of the push in this exercise, as this is the way one would be guiding or resisting for a push in all the dances.

Note: The guiding is always initiated from the body and not the limbs. The limbs only assist fractionally.

Very Important Variation for PULL
Stand erect backing and about six inches from a wall. Keeping the feet flat and the ankles and knees relaxed. The body from the hip upwards and the head is kept straight and relaxed. Now fall back and rest on the wall such that only the buttocks touch the wall. Next is to bend slight forward from the hip such that a one gets a feeling of pushing the wall back from the buttocks. This will result in one coming back to the starting position.

Repeat this exercise till one is able to do it continuously and rhythmically, without injury, jerks or any noise. Very consciously get the feel of the pull acting through the arms due to the body moving back.

Very Important Understanding for PUSH AND PULL
When the body moves for the guiding the partner starts feeling it firmly and has time to prepare. At the end of this movement a slight flexing of the hip together with the fractional assistance from the arms gives the powerful force required for the particular action required in a dance. Similar but contrary movement is for the pull force.

Essence of This Exercise
To get the essence of the above exercises imagine the body to be compared to a truck, and the limbs to a car.

Now imagine there is an accident when the slow moving truck collides with a stationary car. Nothing much might happen to the truck, however the car would be dented badly due to the trucks higher momentum. Now if we consider conversely, a car colliding a stationary truck, and to get the equivalent denting as mentioned above, the car would have to have a higher speed since it is comparatively much lighter. The truck movement is slow but produces a better "bang"; also in such a case it would be saver to be in a truck.

Similarly imagine a car towing a truck, where the car would have to "work" considerably. Now imagine the truck towing the car. This would more or less look like a red-hot knife passing through a slab of butter.

Similarly in dances one needs to understand very clearly that all movements are because of the body (the truck). The limbs (the car) move in a pattern as dictated by the body.

PUSH AND PULL against a Bar
Stand facing and about six inches from the firm horizontal bar, which is one's elbow height from the floor. The feet remain flat on the ground. Next is to move the hips forward and back. This will result in strong push and pull acting through the arms. The feel for the push and the pull should be exactly same as that when practising push-ups on the floor and lifting the whole body off the floor, and for the pull part when the buttocks hit the wall as give above. Note that in either of the cases the upper body bends slightly forward from the hip.

PUSH AND PULL with a Partner
Here the bar is replaces by the partner. And as the bar was firm thus the hand remained in the same place, similarly when practising with the partner the hands should remain steady at the same spot in space. This is achieved by equal and opposite force given by the partner and the continuous adjustments made for the team work.

Hold here is very crucial. The man holds his hands such that he is just about to hold the vertical handlebars on a bus or a train. The lady keeps her hand facing down and horizontal and fingers pointing downwards. The partners hold with the fingers, and do not use the thumb. For the pull use the fingers, and for the push lady uses the knuckles by relaxing the fingers and the man uses the base of the thumb. Because of this a slight "play" is there every time before and after the force is applied. This helps in avoiding jerks and additional advance indications can be given with the finger, if necessary.

The "play" here can be compared with the one in a steering wheel. So one can turn the steering wheel clockwise and counter clockwise within certain limits, without actually turning the wheels. Similar is the case in the chain between the two cogwheels in a bicycle. This helps in mainly two things. One is the build up of force gradually for a particular action, and the second is to avoid the jerks and the shocks. If the play is more or less than the ideal, then there would be jerks, and more force would be required.

This play should help, if done properly, as in the case of the buffers in a train. The two coaches in a train are joined by a link and they have buffers between them to absorb the extra forces.

Another good example is the yo-yo. A toy that is a small rope-pulley with a string attached to it. One end of the string is held in the hand and the other end is attached to the pulley. Firm but gentle pull or push force is given alternately, and between the force there is relaxation, and the whole action is done rhythmically such that the string winds and unwinds around the pulley.